Archives

Vowing to pursue a defensive military policy, China today claimed that it does not seek hegemony and poses no threat to its neighbours and other countries, as it advocated dialogue to settle regional disputes. It also hoped to become a growth engine for global development through its imports which are expected to reach USD 8 […]

Beijing: Vowing to pursue a defensive military policy, China Tuesday claimed that it does not seek hegemony and poses no threat to its neighbours and other countries, as it advocated dialogue to settle regional disputes. It also hoped to become a growth engine for global development through its imports which are expected to reach USD […]

Lee Gyeong-seon, president of the Jeju Women’s Association, reads a statement in front of the construction site of a naval base in Gangjeong, Jeju, saying local residents and activists will continue peaceful demonstrations. / Yonhap By Lee Tae-hoon GANGJEONG, Jeju ? The debate continues to rage as to whether an envisioned naval base on Jeju […]

“We have not found any suspicious equipment on board any Chinese vessels at Colombo port in the recent past as claimed by some media,” Navy Spokesman Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya said. A Chinese ship that was on a scientific mission was spotted by radars in the Indian Ocean. The Indian Navy ship that tailed it detected […]

By Liu Jiangyong (People’s Daily) It is common for Japan to release the “Defense White Paper” annually, yet this year’swhite paper has attracted particular attention. Upon the release of the “Defense WhitePaper” on Aug. 2, China expressed a condemnation of Japan. The South Koreangovernment has also protested Japan’s territorial claim over Takeshima, an island thatis called Dokdo in South Korea. The dangerous signals sent out by Japan’s whitepaper are worrying. First, the release of the new defense white paper is aimed at implementing the nationaldefense program outline issued at the end of 2010 and further regards China as amain target to guard against. The white paper has not only continuously stressed that “the non-transparency inChina’s defense policy and military operations is a matter of concern for both theregion including Japan and the international community,” but also has made furtherexplanation of the “Dynamic Defense Force” mentioned in the new national defenseprogram outline and emphasized strengthening the defense capacities in southwesternJapan. Therefore, Japan will improve its naval and air capabilities and enhance its overalldeployment capacities so as to rapidly transfer its naval and air forces to southwesternJapan for defensive operations if necessary. The new defense white paper has begun stressing the importance of preventingnetwork attacks and quoted a report released by the U.S. Department of Defense assaying that most of the computer systems in the world have become exposed toattacks from China. This shows that Japan’s defense white paper mainly targets China. Second, the new defense white paper plays up the “China threat theory” in order tobridge the divide between Japan and the United States and to force local governmentsto continue to tolerate the presence of U.S. military bases. Currently, disagreements concerning the relocation of the Marine Corps Air StationFutenma, a major U.S. military airbase in Okinawa, remain unsolved. Due toconsiderable U.S. pressure, the Japanese government decided long ago that theFutenma base should be relocated to an offshore location at Henoko Bay in Nago,northern Okinawa. However, the relocation plan, which was supposed to be completedby 2014, has been shelved due to strong protest from Nago residents. The Japanese Ministry of Defense played up the “China threat theory” for the purposeof forcing the Okinawa prefecture government and residents to endure the continuedpresence of the U.S. airbase. When China-Japan relations were showing signs ofimprovement in May 2010, the United States said that its security treaty with Japanapplies to the Diaoyu Islands. With the strong backing of the United States, Japan soonarrested the crew of a Chinese fishing boat and took the chance to play up the “Chinathreat theory.” When a major earthquake caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March thisyear, the United States immediately repositioned its aircraft carriers away from theareas possibly affected by nuclear leaks and designated a much larger evacuationzone than Japan did. In order to redeem the image of U.S. troops stationed in Japan,the two countries propagandized for U.S. troops’ efforts in subsequent disaster reliefwork. Another purpose of the propaganda was to win the public’s support for thecontinued presence of U.S. military bases in Japan, which has been underscored inthe new white paper. Third, the new white paper is aimed at pressing China by whipping up public opinionsin order to restrain China’s efforts of safeguarding its territorial sovereignty,safeguarding its maritime rights and interests and improving its national defensecapacity. The newly added South China Sea content in the paper accuses China of taking “high-pressure steps” for the Diaoyu Island dispute and South China Sea disputes. Thepaper claims China has worried its neighbors, including Japan, about “the direction inwhich China is headed,” and says the reason for the increase in the defense budgetsof Southeast Asian countries is that China’s influence is growing. The new white paper also emphasizes that China’s navy has “expanded the extent ofits activities and normalized its activities” in the East China Sea and South China Sea.It seems that Japan wants to these statements to resonate with the countries ofSoutheast Asia that have territorial disputes with China so that countries of the EastChina Sea and South China Sea could restrain China cooperatively. The fundamental problem that Japan’s new “National Defense Program Outline” and”Defense White Paper” has shown is that Japan’s strategic orientation toward China inthe security realm and its related military strategies towards China are mistaken. Obviously, Japan’s Ministry of Defense does not take China-Japan mutually beneficialstrategic relations as the foundation for the cooperation between the two countries inthe security realm. Instead, it regards China as the biggest “potential threat” and hasmade defense strategies based on it. It is ridiculous and furthermore dangerous. China currently is the largest trade partner of Japan and largest source of tourists forJapan’s travel industry. If China and Japan cooperate with each other, both countieswill benefit. If China and Japan fight with each other, both counties will get hurt.Therefore, is it not clear which way Japan should choose?

Paul Redfern 3 September 2011 THE NUMBER of successful piracy attacks on ships off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden has decreased this year leading to fears that there will be an escalation in violence against seafarers. International Maritime Organisation (IMO) secretary general Efthimios Mitropoulos said the ratio of successful pirate attacks […]

HANOI: An unidentified Chinese warship demanded that an Indian naval vessel identify itself and explain its presence in South China Sea waters off Vietnam in July, the Financial Times said on Thursday. The London-based newspaper reported that five people familiar with the incident said it occurred in international waters shortly after India’s amphibious assault ship […]

Cutting our military further in a dangerous world could be costly There is no question that the Department of Defense is facing a budget crisis, which, if not managed properly, will have far-reaching consequences for our national security. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, before departing the Pentagon, cautioned repeatedly about a “hollowing out” of our military forces if […]

India is notorious for not learning from mistakes. The failure of our maritime security agencies has again been demonstrated with various incidents off Mumbai’s coast. The 26/11 attacks too thoroughly exposed the shocking gaps in India’s maritime security mechanism. Not for nothing has Defence Minister AK Antony been driving home the point that India’s 7,516-km […]